House cats are typically trained to use a litter box for elimination of both liquid and solid wastes. A cat litter box is normally made of a no absorbent material for supporting litter therein. The litter material may be one of any number of particulate litter materials that absorb moisture from the waste of the cat and that may also suppress odor from cat wastes. Some forms of litter material form clumps when wet.
The waste in the litter boxes must be discarded regularly, in some instance on a daily basis. However, ever after minimal use the waste may result in a strong, unpleasant odor. As such, the person cleaning litter box may find this to be an unpleasant task.
As such, a number of apparatus have been developed for the self cleaning of litter boxes. These self-cleaning cat litter boxes may include a rake or comb that is normally maintained in a storage position at one end of the litter box. This comb is moved through the litter material in the litter box, periodically, from the storage position at one end of the litter box to the opposite end, which constitutes a discharge end for the litter box. At the discharge end of the litter box the rake can move up, out of the litter material, discharging any clumps of waste collected by the rake into a disposal receptacle. Upon completion, the rake moves back to the storage position.